Hindu outfits bask in BJP win, raise pitch on Sanskrit issue

New Delhi: Basking in BJP's spectacular victory in Lok Sabha elections, VHP on Friday claimed that "proud Hindus" have come to rule Delhi after 800 years and demanded that Sanskrit be made compulsory in schools.

In the same breath, Vishwa Hindu Parishad patron Ashok Singhal, who was addressing the three-day World Hindu Congress which began here today, also said "many more things will be made compulsory in times to come".

Though he did not make direct reference to the electoral victory of BJP, Singhal, a key figure in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, said it was after 800 years since Prithviraj Chauhan ruled Delhi that "proud Hindus" have come to rule the capital.

Chauhan is seen by some as the last Hindu king before Muslims and then English ruled the country till its independence in 1947.

Speaking on the row over Sanskrit replacing German as the third language in KV schools, Singhal said the ancient Indian language should be made compulsory.

"There will be many more things made compulsory. This is language of our country. Everything was written in Sanskrit thousands of years ago. If you want to eliminate it, you want to eliminate this country," he told reporters.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said Hindus should "rise" in unison and show "the world leadership based on values". But it would not be in reaction to anything or against anybody but in keeping with Indian values which have been a teacher to the world, he said.

Bhagwat said world had experimented with various models for over 2000 years and was looking upon Hindu values to show it the way.